Saturday, May 21, 2005

EU - WHSC :: Press Releases :: Article Detail: "What Would 100 Billion McVeggie Burgers Mean? Healthier Customers, Study Says
Do you want that with soybeans?
As junk food consumption continues to escalate, Emory University researchers would like to change the nation's fast food habits.
If the next 100 billion burgers sold under the Golden Arches were veggie-based instead of beef, Americans' cholesterol levels, fiber intake and overall health would all improve, according to an article in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
The study's senior author is Erica Frank, MD, MPH, vice chair and associate professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine. Elsa Spencer, PhD, an Emory University post-doctoral fellow, and Nichole McIntosh, MD, a former Emory University School of Medicine student, are the other authors.
Dr. Frank says the impetus for the study was seeing the McDonald's signs that say 'Over 100 billion burgers sold.' The study compares the McVeggie burger with McDonald's beef burger and asks what if the next 100 billion burgers were McVeggie patties instead of beef? McDonald's customers would benefit from an estimated 1 billion more pounds of fiber, 550 million fewer pounds of saturated fat, 1.2 billion fewer total pounds of fat and even 660 million more pounds of protein, the authors say.
'I wondered how Americans and the environment might look different if these burgers had been veggie burgers instead of cow burgers,' says Dr. Frank. 'The bottom line of the study is that the McVeggie burger substitution would provide over a billion fewer pounds of fat, one billion more pounds of fiber, and even more protein.'
McVeggie burgers are sold in Canada and in some major cities across the United"